A government led by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) would review the decriminalisation of marijuana, according to General Secretary Joseph Harmon, who says research needs to be done.
“We as the APNU, what we are committing to is a review of the laws as it relates to the use and sentencing policies as in relation to marijuana,” Harmon told reporters on Friday.
Harmon said the coalition realises that many of the country’s young men are languishing in the prison system because they were caught with small amounts of the drug and a study needs to be undertaken to ascertain if this has been beneficial to the country’s development.
“The APNU is committed to ensuring that the energies of all the people of this country are utilised for the building and the development of the country. And to the extent that we have a large group of our young men in prisons for minor offences in relation to marijuana, we believe that it requires some kind of review and we are committed to reviewing that. We are committed to reviewing the laws for these offences and the way they are dealt with by magistrates,” he added.
Further, he said that unlike the current People’s Progressive Party/Civic administration, which has said it will not be looking at the decriminalisation, the coalition will have a study done and work on recommendations given.
“We are not like the PPP, to say it won’t ever happen… the world is moving in a certain direction and we have to take cognisance of trends and world patterns,” he added.
Last year, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee repeatedly stressed his government’s “Zero Tolerance” policy on illicit drugs, including marijuana.
In June last year, the Jamaican government decided to decriminalise the possession of small amounts of marijuana, joining countries moving to soften laws on the drug.
